Autonomous underground navigation of an LHD using a combined ICP-EKF approach

A new approach for the autonomous navigation of a load-haul-dump (LHD) truck in an underground mine is presented. The development of a minimal-structure combined ICP-EKF algorithm utilizing a scanning-laser range-finder for the localization of the vehicle is described. The iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm is employed for matching the scanned data to an existing map in the form of a poly-line. This combined approach efficiently deals with the uncertainty present in the range data. An extended Kalman filter (EKF) algorithm is employed, that exploits a nonlinear kinematic model incorporating the vehicle-slip, a nonlinear observation model based on the vertices of the poly-line map, and the bearing of the laser-observations. This provides reliable vehicle estimates. Real data gathered during a trial run in the mine is employed in testing the efficiency of this approach which is found to be robust with respect to occlusions and outliers, demonstrating the successful navigation of the LHD.

[1]  Hannu Lehtinen,et al.  Navigation system for LHD machines , 1995 .

[2]  K. S. Arun,et al.  Least-Squares Fitting of Two 3-D Point Sets , 1987, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence.

[3]  Paul J. Besl,et al.  A Method for Registration of 3-D Shapes , 1992, IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell..

[4]  Hugh F. Durrant-Whyte,et al.  Map-building and map-based localization in an underground-mine by statistical pattern matching , 1998, Proceedings. Fourteenth International Conference on Pattern Recognition (Cat. No.98EX170).

[5]  Anthony Stentz,et al.  A robotic system for underground coal mining , 1992, Proceedings 1992 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[6]  Gamini Dissanayake,et al.  Map Building and Terrain-Aided Localisation in an Underground Mine , 1998 .

[7]  Hugh F. Durrant-Whyte,et al.  An Autonomous Guided Vehicle for Cargo Handling Applications , 1995, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[8]  Peter I. Corke,et al.  Experiments in autonomous underground guidance , 1997, Proceedings of International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[9]  Peter Corke,et al.  Automation of underground truck haulage , 1997 .

[10]  Aníbal Ollero,et al.  A mobile robot iconic position estimator using a radial laser scanner , 1995, J. Intell. Robotic Syst..

[11]  Hobart R. Everett,et al.  Mobile Robot Positioning - Sensors and Techniques , 1997 .